The Feather Islands – Fjäderholmarna Stockholm

Stockholm’s Archipelago is one of the world’s largest, and with over 30,000 islands to explore, you really are spoilt for choice if you want to get away from it all and leave the city’s hustle and bustle behind…

In a little under half an hour from the ferry terminal in Strömkajen (opposite the fabulously gold plastered Opera House), you can find yourself in the midst of nature, and with the added bonus of taking in many of Stockholm’s most famous sights along the way. Watch out for the stomach churning roller coasters of Gröna Lund, and the rather weird and wonderful giraffe crane thing next door, admire many decades of Skansen buildings, a stately home or two, and inspect the odd behemoth cruise ship parked up (can you park a boat?) for the day for a trip in to town…

This (much smaller) boat journey was a huge novelty for the Toddler, who spent the entirety of the journey expressing how delighted he was to be on a boat, and the other half trying to impress our friend’s 8 year old daughter he was very much smitten with. If you asked him (and he could actually answer you properly) I am sure he would tell you this journey was the highlight of his Stockholm trip – and he still “talks” about Emmy wistfully now! By the way, if you intend to get a Stockholm Pass, some ferry transport is included, so double check before you pay for a ticket…

Our first Swedish island adventure was out to Stora Fjäderholmarna (big Feather Island!), the closest island of the Archipelago you can get to from the city. There are no permanent residents here, just a few good restaurants, some very talented craftspeople and lots of others just enjoying some well deserved peace.

Fjäderholmarna really is a great place to visit with kids. Most of ours took off (apart from the smallest being) to explore as soon as our feet touched dry ground. They had a glorious day rock climbing whilst I tried to remember any Scandinavian relaxed parenting skills I might have gained a few years back – look at the beast they scaled above! As well ice cream eating, inspecting sabre toothed sea monsters, and watching glassblowing exhibits (which took me straight back to our time in Bornholm!) and finding much hilarity in the artist’s tip jar…

Everything on the island is typically open from the end of April onwards, and it would make a spectacular place to watch the midsummer celebrations, but bear in mind that things gradually close down towards the end of the year, with some restaurants shutting up shop for the season at the beginning of September. Other restaurants run special ferries out for Christmas Lunch, which sounds amazing if you ask me… Speaking of ferries, do take a note of the timetable and make sure you get on the correct boat (on some smaller islands you actually need to indicate to the captain to stop by raising a little semaphore!). We learned that very valuable lesson a few years back one snowy winter’s day in Bavaria, so I get somewhat paranoid about checking and rechecking the times nowadays. If you are visiting Fjäderholmarna in the summer months however, you should be OK as the last ferry back is at midnight. You might find this Archipelago site really useful…

Explore to the extent we did (i.e. take a bunch of mountain goat like children with you!), and you will uncover a few of Fjaderholmarna’s sleeping ghosts, including plenty of dormant military equipment from the 50 years it spent off limits to the public as a military zone, before finally being handed back to the public in 1985.

a quick note to add, although this might look staged, it wasn’t. The 12 year old is a bit of a hippy like her Mama at heart it seems…

A hundred years or so before that, Fjaderholmarna was also home to the Vodka War, when L.O.Smith went on to produce a vodka ten times purer than that made by the state who had the monopoly on alcohol, and they tried to put a stop to it. He would offer luxurious boat trips out to the island to get round the law, and serve his potent wares. You might recognise him today as his face graces many a bottle of Vodka in the company that he went on to found – Absolut… Fjäderholmarna has always had a bit of an association with alcohol (there’s a great brew pub here today that does fantastic looking tasting boards by the way!), and if you listen very carefully, I am sure you can hear a drunken sailor or two from the past…

lunch from a hammock at Roda Villan?

Lunch for our hungry tribe was at the very picturesque Röda Villan(translating as Red House, and something you will spot an awful lot of in this part of the world…), perched on top of a rock and surrounded by pine trees. There’s quite the choice of seating, from inside the house itself dating back to 1897, to plenty of tables (and hammocks!) nestled in various nooks and crannies in the garden. Known for its barbecues, it’s a really special place for a bite to eat – we can recommend the pancakes and gorgeous home made pizza… You are spoilt for choice when it comes to food on this island anyway…

After a whole day enjoying island life, before we knew it it was time to catch the ferry back to Stockholm again – our first visit to a Swedish Archipelego island complete, I think three of our party were asleep before the boat left the dock they were so worn out! And me? I have been utterly bitten by the Feather Island bug, and although you cannot stay on many of the islands, there are plenty that you can, so I have various tabs open with summer houses on various tiny island options for 2018 as we speak…

Reader Interactions

Comments

After reading your last post I added Stockholm to our list if we ever make it hopefully we will get a chance to add the islands too. Your photos are beautiful and it looks so peaceful. I can really see us there x

Sweden is on the list of places we want to visit. I would like to travel around Scandinavia, visit Lapland and see the northern lights. I hadn’t thought of looking into going to the islands though… will keep it in mind.

I’ve had Stockholm on my must-visit list for so long, but this has just tempted me even more – it looks like a lovely contrast to the city. It sounds great for kids too – I know my son would love the boat trip too! I love the story about the Absolut vodka too, I love little bits of history that make the people seem so human and relatable!

Wow that sounds like an incredible day out, exploring and discovering the island – I never realised there was so many islands to see and I’d love to visit the one you chose one day, it looks fascinating

I have been to Stockholm twice but I didn’t make it to the archipelago. The Feather islands looks lovely, very peaceful and quiet. I love all the flower arrangements. It’s great that in summer the ferry run till the midnight and that some of them are included in the Stockholm card.

Beautiful pictures – I see your point about planning your summer holidays already!
Btw, as we have spent the year following in each other’s footsteps, am I right to assume you’ll be heading to Bavaria over the Christmas holidays? ;-)

Wow what a fantastic day out from Stockholm! I’m so glad everybody had a lovely time, especially your smitten toddler! There’s nothing like going on a little ferry ride especially if there are girls to impress too! I loved Stockholm when I visited many moons ago and would love to take my little guy back that way. Thanks for the inspiration!

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